Hate Is A Strong Word
by Midget1994
Summary: Sequel to If I Cannot Have Your Heart. Starfire is having trouble coming to terms with not being able to fight, and it's putting pressure on her relationship with Robin. When Robin goes back to Gotham to visit his parents' grave, Starfire realises things might be worse than she and Robin initially thought. But at least Slade is still in prison. Right?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Starfire sat floating on air, her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Raven was sat opposite her, the two girls holding hands. Consciously, Starfire steadied her breathing and blocked out any residual sound around her. Peace, quiet, tranquility. Raven opened her eyes and let go of Starfire's hands. "Right Star, produce a starbolt." Doing as she was instructed, Starfire lifted her left hand and produced a starbolt, letting it rest where it was. Raven observed the energy and noticed it was pulsing. This was normal at the moment, as Starfire had trouble controlling how much energy she put into her starbolts. "Well, it's certainly better than the last time we tried. Now the other hand."

Lifting her right hand, Starfire did as she was instructed again, and again Raven inspected the energy. It was the same. They were certainly making progress, but it was slow. It had been six months since Starfire had come home and not much had changed. She was controlling her energy better, and she was a lot less angry thanks to Robin's efforts, but she still couldn't fly, and Batman had ruled that she still wasn't fit to fight. So Raven and Robin carried on their individual sessions with Starfire as it was the only solution they could think of.

Raven watched as Starfire pulled a face and the two starbolts flickered a bit brighter. She was struggling to keep her energy flow consistent. "Concentrate on your breathing." Raven kept flicking her eyes between the starbolts and Starfire's face, and she could tell it was difficult for the poor girl.

Unfortunately, the two girls were concentrating so much on what they were doing that neither of them had heard the door to the living room open. So when Robin offered a small "how's it going?", raven jumped out of her skin and Starfire lost all concentration, falling to the floor and accidentally letting loose her two starbolts. Robin instinctively covered himself in his cape and Raven put up a shield around herself to protect from the deadly projectiles. The one from Starfire's right hand hit the ceiling, dislodging a few ceiling panels, and the one from her left hand shattered a window. The two girls looked at the mess caused and turned their gazes to Robin who was looking sheepish. He offered a nervous chuckle. "Heh, sorry."

Starfire sighed and got up from the floor, heading over to the cupboard to retrieve a dustpan and brush to collects the broken glass. Raven set to work replacing the ceiling panels. "It's okay Star." Raven looked down at her as she spoke. "We'll try again tomorrow, in a place where no one can distract us." Starfire looked up from her sweeping and sighed.

"What is the point? It has been half an earthen year and I have only made marginal progress. I am starting to doubt that I will ever be able to fight along side my friends again." She looked so sad. This happened often, that Starfire would doubt everything and become angry and frustrated. Robin moved over to her and took the brush out of her hand, setting it on the floor and pulling her into a hug.

"Don't think like that Star." He pulled back so he could look at her. "That little mishap was my fault, so we'll set up one of the spare rooms as a no entry zone so you and Raven and have privacy when you do these sessions. You're making progress, really you are. You'll be able to fight again, it's just taking longer than we thought."

Starfire sighed again and pulled from Robin's grasp. Wordlessly she picked up the brush again and carried on cleaning the glass. Raven landed and motioned for Robin to join her in the kitchen area. Robin did so, getting himself a glass of water in the process. "Robin you need to get her anger under control, it's making it harder for me to get through to her. She makes a slip up, gets angry and then refuses to do anything more until at least the next day. I'd carry on with her now but I knew you distracting her would make her angry. Not that I blame you, but she blames herself."

"I'm trying, I just... I'm having a moral dilemma to be honest. Star has opened up about, we'll just about everything really. She is angry at that scar obviously, but there's one other thing. She wants to know how Slade made her so powerful and I don't want to tell her. I hate lying to her but I don't want to be responsible for bringing back memories of her past. I'm scared of breaking her. I don't think it would have been so bad had I told her in the first place. I think my little white lie to protect her has backfire on me completely." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Let's just leave it for now. Give her time to calm down and we'll figure something out. I'll go find Cyborg and Beast Boy, I told them they were banned from the room until I told them they could come in." Raven moved out of the room and Robin looked over to Starfire who was putting the last of the broken glass in a bag.

"I'll get Cyborg to fix that, I'm sure we have spare panes in the basement." Robin frowned as Starfire didn't even acknowledge that he had spoken. He put his glass down and walked over to her, intercepting her has she went to put the bag in the bin. "Star?" She moved past him and silently threw the bag away. Robin knotted his eyebrows together. What was she doing? "Star?" Again no response, she just went to put the dustpan and brush away. "Starfire!" Robin shouted a tad louder than he had wanted to, but at least it got her attention.

Starfire, shocked at Robin's outburst stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. He wasn't angry, but he looked it. Starfire figured it was probably more frustration than anything. She knew it was wrong to ignore him but she knew what he was going to say and she didn't want to hear it. "Robin..."

"No. I appreciate that you're upset Star but ignoring me isn't going to help it. I don't say the things I say, and repeat myself for the sake of it, I say it because it's true. We will get through this and we will get you fighting and we will get your flight back. I made a promise to you and I'm not breaking it."

"I am just frustrated with the repetitive routine in which I have found myself. Every day is the same. I have a session with either you or Raven, I get angry or frustrated, and then you and Raven tell me the same words that you told me the day before. I am beginning to dread these sessions because I know they will end the same as they always do." Starfire sat on a chair, feeling and looking defeated. Robin sat next to her and took her hand,

"Star, I know it's hard, but it is working. You might not see the progress but Raven and I do, and every time Batman comes, he says he can see an improvement. It may be slow, but it's still progress. Please, don't give up. I want to fight by your side just as much as you want to rejoin us."

Starfire sighed and looked up at Robin. "Fine. I will keep trying. But I wish to be alone for a while. I need to do the calming down." Without a second glance at him, Starfire left. She didn't realise it, he could tell, but she was putting a strain on their relationship. The longer it went that she couldn't fly, the less affectionate she became, and it was becoming harder and harder for Robin to bring her out of her moods. When it first started, Starfire would seek Robin out, and sometimes just sitting with his arms around her would calm her down. But as time went on, it worked less and less until she just stopped trying to find him. If it was a session with him, instead of letting her frustrations out with Robin there, she would leave and he would find her some time later usually crying.

The worst thing for Robin, on a personal level, was that their physical contact had practically come to a standstill. She would no longer hold his hand should they go anywhere, their hugs became shorter and shorter everyday, and they only kissed when Robin managed to sneak one in should he catch her off guard. Which he did manage, but not very often. There was also the fact that a month or so after Starfire had come back, she and Robin had unintentionally found themselves sharing a bed every night. She felt safer with him there, and he felt better knowing no one could get to her if he was there. But that had halted about three weeks ago. One night Starfire had locked her door before Robin had gone to bed, and she refused to answer the door. After five days of the same scenario, Robin took the hint and just took to sleeping in his own bed alone again. Starfire never did offer any explanation.

Just as Robin was about to go calm his thoughts by doing some work, when the computer started beeping. Confused, he went over to the desk and answered the call. Surprisingly, Batman appeared on the screen. "Hello Robin." After Starfire had spoken to Batman at the watchtower, Batman had given a concerted effort into trying to show Robin how proud he was, and Bruce had put the same effort into being a father figure to Dick Grayson. Whatever had caused Robin to leave was in the past now, and they were working on a better relationship. They realised they owed it to each other.

"Hello Batman. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I was wondering if you were coming back to Gotham this weekend?" Batman looked stoic, but his voice was a little softer than his usual Bat voice. This was Bruce talking to Dick. And Dick knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Yes. I was going to call you later today actually, I want to come back on Friday afternoon so I can spend all of Saturday in Gotham."

"Will you be returning on Sunday? I understand if you do but I had hoped I could convince you to stay for a week. Not only because of the time of year, but because Alfred misses you, Barbara wanted to see you, and I was hoping you, Jason, and I could go out to dinner?"

Robin thought about it, a small smile stretching across his features. "I suppose a week wouldn't kill me." Now a year ago Robin wouldn't have even entertained the idea of staying at Wayne Manor for more than was absolutely necessary. However, the approaching weekend was the anniversary of his parent's death, and Robin made absolute sure that on that day, every year, he would put flowers on their grave and spend time in Gotham, so as to respect his parents' memories. There was also the fact that as he got older, Dick realised that while Bruce could never replace his father, he had tried his hardest. Bruce was not a fatherly man, and it was the lack of that figure that had caused Dick to distance their relationship. But after their talk the day Batman had brought Starfire back, they had agreed to meet once a month to talk about things that were not hero related in any way, and just spend time together. Dick owed Bruce for taking him in, and Bruce owed Dick for giving his life more meaning.

"Great, well since most people in Gotham know about this weekend, I would advise that you make a public return to Gotham as Dick. You know, just to avoid suspicion. Therefore I will send the private Jet to Star City airport. You make your way there and we'll say you were visiting friends."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. What time do I need to be at the airport?"

"Shall we say take off at four? That way you could make it back here to have dinner. I'm sure Alfred would love to cook for you."

"Right, four on Friday. I'll be there. See you soon!"

"Goodbye Dick." The screen went blank and Robin smiled to himself. Although, there was that little thought in the back of his head that he would have to tell Starfire he was leaving. First though, he would tell the other three, if not only so Cyborg could prepare for being leader for a week. Pulling his communicator from his belt, he individually called Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy to join him in the living room. And it wasn't long until they joined him since they were on their way back there anyway.

"What's up Rob?" Cyborg sat on the sofa, his arm resting on the back, and Beast Boy made his way to the kitchen to make a snack. Raven just sat on a chair.

"I have to leave for a week on Friday. It's... Erm... Well it's the anniversary of my parents' deaths so I'm going back to Gotham. Cyborg you're in charge while I'm gone. Oh and please fix the window that Star broke."

"It's cool man, we understand." Truth was, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy knew who he was now. It had all come out when Star had returned, just so no one was confused about what had happened. They were all fine with it. Well, all except Beast Boy who didn't believe him for about a month. How could a pretty boy like Dick Grayson waste his life being a hero when he could live the easy life? It hadn't gone down well with Robin, but he let Beast Boy believe what he wanted. It wasn't until Robin had left one night, and Dick Grayson had randomly appeared at a charity event in the city that Beast Boy believed him.

"I take it Star already knows?" Beast Boy appeared from below the kitchen counter, crumbs around his mouth.

"Actually, I haven't told her yet. I literally just organised it, and didn't call her through because she's not in the best of moods." Truthfully, Robin felt slightly ashamed. He was honestly a bit frightened to tell her because of how she would react. Bitterly though, he thought to himself that his absence probably wouldn't be any different to the way there were now anyway.

"You should go tell her now. If she finds out you kept it from her, she'll be even less pleased. It's Wednesday today, you only have two days." Raven had a good point. Hesitantly, Robin made his way to go and find her. She would be one of two places. Her room, or the roof. He tried her room first, and knocked on the door.

"Star, I need to talk to you. It's important." First time lucky, it turned out Star was in her room, and Robin was greeted with Starfire as she opened the door.

"You may enter." Starfire went and sat back on her bed. She was playing with Silkie. Robin followed her in. "What is it you wish to discuss?"

"I have to leave for a week on Friday. I've put Cyborg in charge, I'll be going back to Gotham."

"I thought you might be at some point, but why are you leaving for a week? You never spend more than a day in Gotham at this time of year." She didn't look at him, she just continued to stroke Silkie.

"I know, but Bruce wants to spend some time with me."

"Very well. I hope you have wonderful time."

Was that it? Was that all she had to say? Really? That was no where near what he had expected. An 'I'll miss you' wouldn't have gone amiss somewhere in that. He was getting angry now. Okay so he wasn't leaving for two days but that wasn't the point. "Is that all I get?" She looked up at him blankly. "I appreciate you're upset and frustrated Starfire, but there's something else, I'm sure of it. You've been avoiding me like the plague and I don't know what I've done wrong. You won't listen to me, you won't let me touch you, you won't let me kiss you. Hell, I don't even feel like we are in a relationship anymore."

"I am sor..."

"No. Don't apologise. Just talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." He knelt down in front of her, taking his mask off and properly looking at her. "Please. I feel like I'm losing you." She sighed and nodded slightly.

"I feel... Useless. I cannot help you or our friends when it comes to the missions. I have purposely distanced myself from you because I feel like I cannot be an adequate girlfriend until I have my anger back on track. I got overly concerned about hurting you should we have an argument, so I decided it was best I just avoid any kind of relationship behaviour. Perhaps I have made the wrong decision?" Starfire looked at the floor, but was brought back to Robin when she heard him chuckle. He was laughing?

"Star, you're so silly. Of course you're going to lash out at me, but I would happily take it because I understand what you're going through. Just have a little more faith in me, I wouldn't hate you because of it. Trust me. I just want my girlfriend back. I miss you, and it's weird because we live together, I should even have chance to miss you. But I miss things about us that have come to a standstill. I want us to be able to kiss, and hold hands, and hug. I want to share a bed with you again, because there's no greater feeling than waking up to your face. I love you, Star. No matter what."

"I love you too Robin." She stood from her bed and pulled Robin to his feet and the two embraced, hugging properly for what felt like the first time in forever. "I will strive to be a better girlfriend. I have been the silly. But please promise me you will overlook anything should I accidentally get angry at you?"

Robin pulled back and smiled at her. "Of course Star." He leant forward and kissed her, again it felt like they hadn't kissed properly in forever. "I'll miss you this next week while I'm gone, I don't want to have to miss you when I get back."

"I will be here waiting for you Richard. I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Friday came and Robin spent the morning packing his things for his week in Gotham. He wouldn't need his Robin outfit because it was widely established that Batman worked alone for the moment, but he packed one anyway, just because he took one everywhere. Well you never know what might happen. Though it was probably best he didn't go out as Robin in Gotham despite anything that may happen. Dick Grayson returns, the week that Robin is out of Jump City and Robin is seen in Gotham with Batman? No, too many connections. No one's that stupid. Still, the uniform was going.

As Robin was packing, he felt his stomach grumble and realised he should probably go and get some food. He hadn't eaten breakfast and it was coming up to lunch time. So he abandoned his suitcase and made his way through to the kitchen where the rest of his team were. Luckily for Robin, Cyborg was currently making some food for everyone to share, so Robin took up a seat at the table where Raven was reading. Beast Boy was currently engaged in playing the latest Mega Monkeys, and Starfire was sat on air in the corner, looking out the window over the city.

"So what time do you want me to drop you off?" Raven asked. Robin had asked her the day before if she would teleport him to Star City so as to make it easier for him to get to the airport. That way no one could track his movements from the tower. Dick Grayson hadn't been seen publicly in a while, so it wouldn't look odd that he just showed up in Star City without warning.

"Take off's at four so if you could drop me at the airport at about half three, that would be great." Robin smiled as Raven nodded at him. Cyborg interrupted the two by placing a plate of pancakes in the middle of the table.

"Come on BB, Star, Lunch." Cyborg set out an array of sauces before sitting down at the table. Beast Boy made his way over and took his place.

"I thought pancakes were breakfast food." Beast Boy took five pancakes off the plate as a start, regardless of his question.

"They are BB, but who doesn't love pancakes?" He had a point. They all enjoyed them.

Robin looked over to see that Starfire hadn't moved. "Star..." He was stopped by Raven who waved her hand in front of his face.

"She's meditating. Just leave her to it." Raven picked up some strawberry sauce and covered her pancakes before digging in.

"Hey Rob, what are you actually gonna do in Gotham? You joining Bats at all?" Beast Boy had recently been more behaved when it came to Batman. He had gotten out of his fan for stage rather quickly since it was apparent that Batman wasn't like the Titans, and no he would not sign anything. Maybe as Bruce Wayne occasionally, but never as Batman. But he was still really interested in Batman, wanting to know about how he works and things, and Robin was only occasionally forth coming with his information.

"No, not unless it's absolutely necessary. I might help him from the cave but other than that, we both think it's best I keep Robin out of Gotham."

"Well, have fun. And dude... I hope tomorrow is as good as possible for ya." Beast Boy flashed Robin a sheepish smile. Robin just stared at him for a moment. He knew that Beast Boy had lost his parents in a similar way, and both teenagers still feel they could both have prevented their parents' deaths, but he'd never known Beast Boy so... Sincere.

"Thanks Beast Boy. That means a lot." The group descended into silence and Robin sat eating with a small smile on his face. He might have lost his family at an early age, and he missed them more every day, but his new family, the Titans, filled that void. He knew he could count on them for anything, even if it was just a small understanding smile.

Soon after they had finished lunch, the Titan's separated once again and Robin went back to finish packing his suitcase. It was around one o'clock and the faster he finished that, the more time he had to make sure everything was in order before he left. It wasn't that he didn't trust his team, it was that he didn't want to leave them unprepared. He would only check things like security measures and make sure Cyborg new all the pass codes to the computer, just little things really. He also wanted to drill into Beast Boy that under no circumstances was he to go into Robin's room and convince everyone to wear his uniform. He'd had to throw five uniforms away that day as they had either been stretched, or just ruined.

Snapping his suitcase closed, Robin placed it by his door and straightened a few things in his room out so it was tidy for when he came back. He made his bed, tidied his desk, made sure his spare uniforms were in order, mostly so he would know if they had been touched when he came back. A sigh escaped him and Robin stared absently at his bed. The anniversary of his parents' death was always hard for him. He wasn't sure he'd ever truly get used to the idea of it. They were such wonderful people that Robin couldn't understand why they were taken from the world. They were the best parents anyone could wish for, so the least he could do is visit their resting place every year.

He had initially been to the grave site on his mother's birthday, his fathers birthday, and the date of their death, but after he moved out of Gotham it became more difficult to go without it being obvious that Robin was missing from Jump. And Robin always argued with himself that the good he was doing, the effort he was putting into being a hero, would make his parents more proud than visits ever could. Besides, the visits always made him uncontrollably emotional to the point where even Bruce Wayne knew to leave him alone. That lesson was learnt when Robin was asked to join Batman on the evening patrol one year. It didn't go down well with the Boy Wonder.

Anyway, Robin finished tidying his room, changed into jeans and a red hoodie, and collected his suitcase before heading for the living room. He entered the room, placing his suitcase against the table before heading over to the computer. "Cy?" Cyborg was just lounging on the sofa watching Beast Boy play one of his many Zombie games.

"Yeah?"

"You know how to..."

"Connect to the cave under extreme circumstances only. Track all communicators as a collective and individually. I know the security like the back of my hand since I installed the system. Under no circumstances is anyone of us to follow you to Gotham. Do not try to track you since the tracker in your communicator will be turned off, despite the fact that we know where you'll be. Just sayin'. All paperwork must be completed and logged in their necessary places within 48 hours of mission completion. No one is allowed in your room. All protocols must be followed no matter what. Do not bother the Justice League. No parties. No slacking on duties. Under no circumstances is Beast Boy allowed near the washing machine. Oh and Starfire isn't allowed to fight, or allowed out of the tower without having someone with her! Did I miss anything?"

Cyborg eyed Robin with a cocky smirk on his face, figuring he knew everything that Robin was going to say to him. Robin frowned, and as stoically as possible said, "anyone who touches my bike is going to end up in Arkham for a night." He turned back to the console and typed a few things in before bringing out his communicator and turning off his tracker. "You won't be able to track me, and if you need to contact me and I don't answer just wait and I'll get back to you when I can. I really don't have any concerns in leaving you, I trust you. The only concern I have really is Slade getting out but honestly the chances are so minimal it's not worth even thinking about." He returned his communicator to his belt.

"Yeah we're well prepared for any event. I won't let anyone bother you tomorrow and if we need you, we'll call so you just go be Dick for a week and leave Robin here." They smiled at each other and Robin finished what he was doing on the computer just as Raven entered the room. Robin looked at the clock. 3:15. Time to say his goodbyes. Beast Boy paused his game and he and Cyborg got up from the sofa, joining Robin and Raven at the table.

"Right, well I'll see you all in a week. I'll be back Friday morning around ten. Batman will be coming on Tuesday to check Starfire's progress, I won't be coming with him. If there are any changes in her behaviour or mentality I want to know about it. Go careful and no one die." Robin hugged Raven and fist bumped Cyborg and Beast Boy before heading over to where Starfire was still meditating. "Star?" He gently roused her from her mind and helped her as she stood.

"You are leaving?"

"Yeah, it's only a week. I'll be back before you know it." He looked at her softly. Her hands found their way to his face before she gently peeled his mask off.

"You do not need this. Not if you are wishing to convince people you are not Robin." A small giggle escaped her as she placed it in his jeans pocket. He offered a small chuckle in return and took her hands in his.

"You won't be able to contact me tomorrow, but anytime after that, you need anything and I'll try my best for you. I'm gonna miss you Star." He pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I will do the missing if you too, Richard." She pulled back and smiled at him and they shared a loving kiss before Robin pulled away from her.

"Bye Star." He moved over to where Raven was waiting for him and picked up his suitcase.

"Goodbye, Robin."

The other Titans voiced their goodbyes as Robin took Raven's hand and they vanished from view in a screech of black. Moments later, Raven returned, and they were left with just the four of them.

Raven had dropped Robin and his suitcase in the men's toilets in the entrance to the airport. He checked himself in the mirror, just making sure he didn't look too much like Robin to raise suspicion, before realising his hair was still spiky. Dick Grayson didn't gel his hair. Dick favoured the floppy look. Wetting his hands, he flattened his hair down over his forehead as best as he could and turned on that Grayson charm he was well known for before leaving the toilets and making his way to through passport control with as much confidence as possible. He was instantly recognised.

There were whispers that followed him as he sauntered through the airport. Is that Dick Grayson? What's he doing here? Does he go to college here? Where's Bruce? The questions went on. Luckily, no one approached him and he made it to the desk without hassle. "Hello, can I help you?" The woman at the desk hadn't even looked up, but he passed his passport over anyway and waited. He watched as she opened it to the correct page and checked the number, before looking at the photo and then looking up at him. She did a double take as she looked at the name and then back at him. "Oh! Mr Grayson! I was told you'd be coming through our humble airport today. Mr Wayne has organised everything for you already. The jet is just being prepared for you. I will personally deliver your luggage to the plane and if you go through to our private lounge there are complimentary refreshments for you while you wait. Someone will come collect you when your plane is ready."

She handed his passport back to him before taking his suitcase off of him and directing him towards the private lounge. Being the ward of a billionaire socialite had its perks. Well, sure Dick made it clear that he didn't need the extravagance that came with Bruce, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate it from time to time. He relaxed in a comfy chair and settled on a fresh cup of coffee. Four o'clock wasn't that far away, and thinking about it, Alfred would probably be preparing a big meal for them right now. He was nice like that.

Robin took a moment and wondered what it was going to be like spending a week back at the Manor. He was going to be properly spending time with Bruce, Alfred, Jason, and maybe even Barbra. It was going to be... Nice. Well that's what he hoped. He knew that Jason and Alfred would probably tiptoe around him for a few days, so as not to upset him, and he and Bruce were generally getting along better. So yeah, it would probably be nice.

The time came and Dick Grayson got on his private jet and left for Gotham. The plane journey was quiet and relaxed and Robin was thankful for it. He sat back and his mind wandered to Starfire. He knew she would be okay without him but it didn't stop him from worrying about her. Robin already planned to have a voice call with Superman from the Batcave and see if he had any ideas on how to help Starfire rid herself of her excess energy. But that was a plan for Sunday. Tomorrow was a big day and as horrid as it seemed, Robin's concern for Starfire would take a back seat. Everything would. Robin looked out of the window and watched the clouds as the plane flew by them, tomorrow was going to be tough.

XXXXXX

Dick Grayson landed in Gotham City at 6 that evening, and everyone knew about it. Every news paper, magazine, and even a few news crews were at the airport to greet him. He turned on his Grayson charm and threw a few dashing smiles their way, but he didn't stop to talk. He got straight in the car waiting for him and let Alfred drive him back to Wayne Manor. "It certainly is good to see you Master Dick. I trust your journey was okay?"

"It's good to see you too Alfred. And yeah it was great thanks."

They pulled into the Manor not long after and Alfred wandered off to finish preparing the meal for that evening. Dick looked around and found that the place hadn't changed any since he was last there, except for the sign on the door next to his that once again read, 'Jason'. Discarding his suitcase in his old room, he went and knocked on the door of Jason's room but got no answer. He did however find that Jason and Bruce were sitting watching TV together. It was an odd sight to say the least. "Figured you'd be working or something?" Dick took his seat next to Bruce who smiled at him.

"Figured you would have brought your girlfriend with you?" Bruce cocked his head slightly as Dick's face distorted a little.

"I thought about it... But decided against it. I know that the Titans already know everything but I don't think I'm quite ready to bring Starfire yet."

"I just thought she might be able to help you through tomorrow. I know it's none of my business but the only person who can bring you up when you're down, is her."

"I know but I... It's only one week."

Bruce was dubious of his eldest son's excuse but he didn't pry the matter. Besides, dinner would be ready soon and it would be nice to have Dick back, even if it was just for one week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Dick Grayson had never been one to let things go easily. Whether that related to his life as Dick, or his life as Robin, the two egos had never quite gotten the hang of forgetting things. He could say it was because he was trained by the Batman, and he dwelled on just about everything. The truth though, was that Dick's life had changed in a matter of moments, unexpected, and unnecessarily. This caused a change in the young boy at the time, and he knew his days of throwing caution to the wind were over. People die if you're not careful. And that hurt never goes away.

Such was true of now, even years after the event, Dick Grayson stood in front of his parents' grave in Gotham Cemetery, unrelenting tears rushing down his face. It was okay, he told himself, to show weakness at this time. Everyone understood. No one judged him. Not that he would have cared if they had. Perhaps he would have, had he been stood there in a black and yellow cape with a mask over his eyes. But he wasn't. So he could cry. He could mourn. He could show that he was breakable.

A delicate hand lay itself on his shoulder, and the light breeze tugged red hair into his vision. He blinked back his tears and wiped his face on his sleeve. Gently, he lay a bouquet of colourful flowers on the grave and stepped back. "I miss you. Everyday. And I hope... I hope you're proud of me, because that's all I ever wanted." Fresh tears hit his cheeks and a small smile graced his face. "Long live the Flying Grayson's."

When he had stopped talking, the cemetery went quiet. Dick had this issue where no matter what he just could not turn off those persistent instincts of his, whether he was in uniform or not and currently he was aware of exactly what was going on in the cemetery. There was a man and a small child three rows from him, the little boy telling the grave of his day at school the day before. Presumably, the boy's mother resided in that grave. Other than that, there was a person, gender unknown, who had their hood up, just entering the gates but had subsequently stopped and stayed stood there. Not that Dick found this suspicious in any way, after all, it took him the best part of half an hour to gather up the courage to enter the first time he visited.

Then there was the gentle figure behind him. She hadn't said a word so far, just being a comfort to him when he needed it the most. She understood. She had lost her mother once, and she knew how hard this was for him. "They will be so proud of you Dick, I know it. You've done nothing but spend your life trying to prevent what happened to them from happening again. Anyone who devotes their life like that to the memory of two people, is one of the biggest hero's I know." Her hand squeezed his shoulder gently and his blue eyes looked up to meet her green ones

"Thanks Babs, I know. I just wish I could hear it from them you know."

"I know. But they love you, and that's all you need to know." She smiled at him and he smiled at her. The hooded person had ventured slowly into the cemetery, slow gentle footsteps. Poor bugger, Dick really did have sympathy for them. "So why did you bring me, Dick?" Babs looked at him quizzically. "I know we've been friends for a while but I was a little surprised to get your call."

"What?" He flashed his eyes to her. "You've come with me before. You know I don't like coming with Bruce, it brings all sorts back for him as well."

"That's not what I mean. Dick, why didn't you bring Starfire with you?" She watched as his head shifted back to the gravestone the instant she said her name. Dick's head spun a little bit. The hooded person had stopped their slow journey. The father and son were getting up to leave.

"Bruce asked me the same thing."

"So what's your response?"

"I didn't think it was the right time to integrate her with the BatFam yet. That's all. I..."

"Dick." She made him look at her. "That's crap. She's already met Bruce, what could be more tasking than that? And she knows Jason. What's the real reason?"

Dick sighed. His head shaking as he mustered up the words. "I... I thought the nightmares would go away. She was finally safe. I don't have to worry about her in battle because she's not allowed to participate. I don't have to worry about Slade because even if he does get out, I'll know within seconds. I just can't stop having nightmares about her. About him. Every night it's the same thing. He would get her, and she'd attack me, and all I can focus on is the rip in her uniform where the scar shows through. All I can focus on is his stupid symbol. When I wake up from these nightmares, and I look down at her sleeping beside me, it takes me a few minutes to realise she's not his anymore. But every time I see that scar and every time she gets angry, it brings it all back. I... I... I'm having trouble looking at her, because all I see is him. I couldn't bring her here, not today and definitely not with this mindset I have. I tried so hard. I even pulled our relationship back on track last week because I thought I was losing her, but I also thought it might make it easier. It didn't. And now I don't know what to do."

They stood in silence for a moment after he'd finished talking. He realised that she wouldn't know what to say but it didn't matter. He looked up and noticed that the cemetery was empty around the two of them. He looked down at the grave in front of him one more time and sighed. "I love you." Silently, the two walked the rows of graves until they reached the gate where a black car was waiting for them. No one spoke the entire journey back to Wayne Manor.

The driver today wasn't actually Alfred as Bruce regrettably needed him for something, so Dick tipped Nolan and thanked him before entering his former home, Bab's trailing along beside him. The foyer was quiet except for a few voices travelling from the kitchen. No doubt Alfred was preparing food, it was nearly dinner time after all. Then there was Jason's laugh carrying through the hallway. That kid's voice travelled through walls relentlessly sometimes. And then Dick stopped dead. His face drained of all colour. There was a giggle mixed in with those voices. A giggle, he recognised.

Babs looks at him suspiciously. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." He didn't answer her, he just slowly and cautiously made his way to the kitchen. The voices and the laughter getting louder as he approached. He was certain now. Without a doubt. She was here. Dick turned through the doorway to the kitchen and true to his knowledge, there she sat. Her back to him, perched on a stool at the breakfast bar. Her wondrous laugh escaping her lips, albeit half heartedly, as she lifted a mug to them.

"Ah, Master Dick. Would you like a drink?" Alfred wasn't actually in the middle of making dinner, he was having a friendly chat with Jason and Starfire who had empty plates and mugs in front of them. Starfire turned, startled at Dick's sudden appearance. Her face went as white as his had, and they both just stared at each other. It wasn't long though until Dick felt white hot anger run through his veins. How dare she.

"What are you doing here?!" His sudden outburst startled everyone, including Bab's who was visible behind him in the foyer.

"I... I had in..intended to have departed by the time you returned. I was told not to expect you back until sometime later and so I stayed for the tea and Alfred had kindly offered the sandwiches. I am truly sorry." Her face betrayed her, and if Dick weren't so angry, he'd have noticed that she didn't sound overly sincere in her apology.

"I said I would be back on Friday. I've been gone just over twenty-four hours and yet here you are. Why are you here?" He narrowed his eyes at her and she was saddened to see such beautiful orbs turn to look at her with hatred.

"I invited her." Another voice joined the conversation as Bruce entered the kitchen from the other door. "I asked her to come so we could discuss the possibility of removing her scar. It also meant I wouldn't have to go to Titan's Tower on Tuesday. I was going to have her leave before you came back, but you're earlier than any of us expected." Bruce took a cup of coffee which Alfred had handed to him and sipped it. Starfire looked to the floor.

"You never mentioned anything to me about being able to remove that scar." Dick glared at Bruce accusingly. Surly if Bruce had known that, he would have told Dick first.

"Robin..." Starfire chocked a noise as she corrected herself. "Richard... Mr Wayne has many connections in this city that you must be well aware of. I have conversed with a man over the computer called Lucious Fox whom I believe is the supplier of weapons to the Batman. He knows someone who could remove this scar for me. When Mr Wayne contacted me about it, I got Raven to transport me here so we could discuss it. I meant no intrusion on this day of mourning for you. I regret any harm I may have caused. If you will all excuse me," she stood from the stool she was sitting on. "I shall go call Raven and return home. I thank you for your hospitality Alfred, and thank you for your company Jason. Mr Wayne, I regret that I cannot remember how to enter the Batcave, that is where Raven will wish to come for me."

Bruce put a gentle hand on her shoulder and led her out past a still outraged Dick and very very quiet Bab's. Dick breathed heavily through his nose. Something didn't add up, but he was far too pent up to even think about it. Okay so maybe he shouldn't have exploded the way he had, and okay so there was some reasoning behind it, but even so, Bruce should not have let her come today of all days. "I need to be alone." Dick stalked out of the kitchen and up to his bedroom where he had taken up temporary residence once again. All that was heard from the kitchen was a door slamming and a muffled shout as Dick screamed into his pillow.

Bab's took up seat in the stool Starfire previously occupied. "He's not gonna come out for a while. Today was really really tough on him."

"Yeah well, he should learn to keep his mouth shut." Jason fiddled with some left over crusts on his plate. "I'd be very surprised if he has a girlfriend to go home to. She fragile and he's selfish."

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind."

XXXXXX

"Raven will be here momentarily." Starfire shuffled her feet, tears threatening her eyes.

"I am truly sorry for causing this Starfire. I had no idea of his feelings. He doesn't exactly open up to me."

"It is okay. I do not blame you. My worst nightmare has come to fruition and I honestly would rather know than him keep it from me. You were trying to do what was best for him and now we both know that I am not it. But we shall sort it out when he returns to the Tower on Friday."

"I'll organise some conference calls with the plastic surgeon and we can discuss the removal of your scar. Though you will need to travel down to Gotham to have the procedure done."

"That is fine. If you could inform me beforehand I would be forever grateful. Should this be successful, I shall be forever in your debt." As Starfire finished talking, Bruce handed her a bag which she took and held tight. A black portal opened up beside her and she could see Raven in the living room through the other side. "Farewell, Mr Wayne."

"Goodbye Starfire."

Starfire stepped through the portal and out into the living room of the Tower. Raven was the only other Titan present and as soon as this was recognised by Starfire she let her knees buckle and the tears flow. Raven caught her as she fell and Starfire clutched onto the other girl's cloak as tight as she could. "Star?.. I'm sensing a great sadness from you. What happened? I thought you'd be staying with Robin for a few days."

Starfire spent a few minutes collecting her thoughts. In an instant her tears of sadness became tears of frustration. She let go of Raven and whispered an apology to the other girl before wiping her face and getting to her feet. She stood with a warrior stance that Raven had only seen a few times before. Her eyes started flowing green. "Robin has unknowingly shared his true feelings. It is evident to me now that the past year has damaged our relationship to a point where it cannot be fixed. He lied to me. Therefore I am through playing by his rules."

"Star, don't do anything stupid." Ravens voice was concerned as she gave her warning. She was still very confused, but she thought she might understand to an extent. "What do you mean you won't play by his rules?"

"I am going to use my own methods of getting my flight back, and my energy to a stable level."

"How? We've been trying for months."

"I explained to Robin many months ago that I had a way of regaining stability. He refused to let me because it is potentially dangerous to myself. He said he would not be able to handle it if he lost me again. He is a liar, and I will no longer sit in the background whilst my friends fight. He has shown today that he has no reason to be concerned."

"Star I don't understand. This morning you went to go help Robin through today and now you've gone into complete warrior mode and are talking about how Robin doesn't care about you. What happened?"

"Robin decided it would be best to voice his opinions when he was unaware of who was around him. He has lied to me, and it causes me great grief."

"That still doesn't answer my question, but if it's too hard to talk about then I get it. What are you going to do about your flight and energy?"

Starfire looked at Raven with a straight face. Her hands and her eyes burst into life. "The same thing I did the last time."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Robin, or Dick Grayson, depending on who he was talking to, was laid on his bed with his eyes shut and his arm over his face. In retrospect he should probably have shut the curtains to block the light out. It was the middle of the day, and the sunlight wasn't helping his pounding headache. When does the sun even shine like this in Gotham? Out of all the questions running through his head, this is the one that currently bothered him the most. Because he was pretty sure the sun was only shining that bright to piss him off even more so than he already was. He sighed and turned away from the window.

Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have exploded at Starfire the way he did. Technically it was Bruce's fault for inviting her, seeing as Starfire would never say no to Batman, especially not if it included a chance to get rid of her scar. Not to mention that it would be beneficial to Robin as he could start to love his girlfriend again. Wait... No... That's not right. He did love her. Does love her. He's just going through a hard time at the moment. Because his girlfriend reminded him of his worst enemy. Because she was part of his worst nightmare.

No. Today is not the day to be thinking about anything like that. Nothing Titan related. Nothing Robin related. Just Grayson's. His mind wandered back to the cemetery, to Babs' hand resting on his shoulder, it wasn't the greatest comfort, but it was nice. Though he did wonder if she actually did have anything to say about the Starfire situation. Maybe later, later meaning tomorrow, he'd ask if she had any advice for him.

There was a knock at the door, and Dick grunted to say that whoever it was could come in. Bruce walked through and shut the door behind him before gently sitting at the edge of Dick's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Shit."

"I know I tell you this every year, that it doesn't ever really get easier, but I don't think it's supposed to. It hurts for a reason. Because you loved them. And you know, they loved you."

"I don't think I'd feel half as bad if I didn't have other things to worry about on top of this. I can't catch a break." Dick ran his hand through his hair before cuddling back into his pillow.

"If you can manage to be shot by the Joker, carry on until he was captured, get the bullet pulled out with just mild anaesthetic, and then create a whole network of super powered teenagers, I think you can handle this. Slade is in prison, and Starfire will come around."

"Oh yeah? What happened to 'don't get close to anyone, relationships only get in the way'?"

"If I told you to break it off with her, you'd never speak to me again. You're the closest thing I'm ever going to have to an eldest son, and I'd quite like to keep it that way. I've gotten used to having you around." Bruce smiled a little as Dick nudged his back with his knee. "I know we've had our differences but I'm always here for you. I made that promise years ago. If you need to talk to someone, I am always here. Unless it's something I really don't want to know, then please don't." He chuckled and Dick cracked a smile. Bruce got up to leave and as he opened the door he looked back at Dick who was clearly deep in thought. Hopefully, he would be able to talk to Starfire and sort out their relationship. He needed her. And despite Bruce's ideals, he wanted his son to be happy.

Later that night, some time around midnight, Dick wandered around the manor aimlessly trying to find something to do, but at the same time he didn't feel in the mood to do anything. He had fallen asleep around two and woke up at seven, meaning he was wide awake. He walked through to the living room where he found Jason staring at the TV, a bag of crisps in one hand and a glass of Coke in the other. Dick leant in the doorway and watched silently with him. Jason loved his action films. Anything with guns and explosions and fast cars and Jason was right in there. Tonight's pick was Mission Impossible, a classic that he could never get enough of.

Dick watched the film for a few minutes before he decided he was bored again and headed down into the Batcave to see if there was anything interesting happening on Bruce's patrol. He spent a good hour or two scouring the Internet for news articles and breaking news stories and headlines, but nothing that came up was remotely interesting to the young Robin. With a sigh, at 2:45am, Dick trudged off to the kitchen to see if he could eat his boredom away. Besides, Alfred wasn't there to shout at him for taking anything from the fridge.

And this was how the next few days went for our dear Robin. He moped about, watched tele with Jason, had some interesting conversations with Alfred, and on one occasion he even went out for dinner with Bruce and Jason, as promised the week before. On an up note though, the Titans hadn't called to deliver any bad news on their end. It seemed that for the moment, all was good in Jump City. It was slightly stressing him out that he hadn't spoken to Starfire, he hadn't exactly parted with her on good terms the last time they met, and he was genuinely a little worried about seeing her. Okay, so he hadn't picked up his communicator and called her, but In his defence, she hadn't called him either. And no, the fact that she was probably respecting his orders of not calling unless it was absolutely necessary did not count in this situation. Robin sighed every time he thought this as he realised it was his inner childishness getting the better of him to make him feel less shitty.

In any case, he would be home in two days and then everything would be fine. He and Star could apologise to each other and everything would fall back into its usual routine. Hopefully. All he had to do was get through tomorrow, which consisted of spending the day with Jason mainly, and Thursday which consisted of visiting the Gordon family before heading back to pack for his departure on Friday. Simple enough right? You would think. But then again, not all people of Robin's age had an intergalactic girlfriend.

XXXXXX

The fact of the matter was that Starfire was currently stood with her arms crossed, her eyebrows knotted together in frustration as her three friends stood defiantly in front of her. Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were all refusing her access to the main console. Well, until Robin returned.

"This is ridiculous. You are all being highly unfair." Starfire huffed her anger out of her nose.

"We're not being unfair, we're following orders." Raven stood stronger, to show that she wasn't going to budge. "Robin left clear instructions that under no circumstances were we allowed to let you do this. And I can guarantee that you haven't managed to get permission from him over the past few days like I told you to."

"You are correct. I have not obtained permission from Robin, I do not need it." Starfire stepped forward but Cyborg moved towards her, his arms stretched out. Starfire raged. "Robin should not have left those instructions on this console. He could not possibly have known I would resort to this. As far as I am concerned, it is not his business."

"We were given an order Star." Cyborg softened his stance. "He might not be here, but he is our leader. We still have to follow his rules. And that includes you.

"And I have explained that I do not need to follow Robin's leadership should the Justice League be involved. If you would give me a moment to use the computer, I am awaiting expressed permission. If Batman tells me that the Justice League approve, then I have no need to wait for Robin, who would only tell me that it was a bad idea."

"Sorry girl, it's not gonna happen. At least not while I'm in charge. Argue with Robin all you want about it, but he said no, so I'm saying no."

"I would rethink that if I were you." All four of the Titans jumped at the new voice that radiated around the room. Starfire smiled slightly as the rest turned to face the screen, only to find Batman's stoic face there. "The Justice League have discussed Starfire's situation and to be honest, we're not at all impressed that this solution to Starfire's energy problem was not mentioned to us earlier. We have decided that yes it is acceptable, but Superman and Wonder Woman will be present to monitor the situation. I will not be present as I have other matters to attend to, but I trust those two enough to know everything will be fine. Starfire, your window of opportunity will be in five hours exactly. At five this evening I want you to be ready, on top of the tower to meet Superman who will take you to the safest point. The rest of it is up to you."

"I thank you. Truly. And Robin he is..."

"As far as I'm concerned, it has nothing to do with him. He'll have something to say but he'll get over it. Though I can guarantee that you will see him before his designated return time of Friday."

"I will be ready. And I will take full responsibility for my actions should anybody take quarrel with them. I thank you, you and the Justice League." Out of habit Starfire dipped into a low bow, her hair falling forward. Batman nodded at her as she rose and the screen went blank. She looked round at her friends, who all looked sheepish, if not a little concerned. "Please friends, you need not do the worrying so much. I will be the okay. I promise."

Raven stepped forward and put a comforting hand on Starfire's shoulder. "Okay Star. If this is really the only option, we'll support you. But I'm coming with you. That way, if some thing does go wrong, I'll be there to help you. Cyborg and Beast Boy will wait here in anticipation for any given situation."

Starfire looked round at her friends who were all smiling reassuringly. She smiled back at them. "Thank you friends. We have the time, shall we go and venture to the place of pizza for food?" Well Cyborg looked at Beast Boy, who looked at Cyborg, and they both turned to look at Raven who signed and just gently said...

"No arguing."

The two aforementioned males ran full pelt to the door, both yelling something about the last one to the T Car would be something grotesque. Raven looked at Starfire who was giggling. "I am sorry I mentioned it."

"We better go before they come back and drag us. And Star, I'm sorry. I was only following orders."

"I know, I apologise for my temper." They smiled at each other and walked out the door to the elevator which would take them to the garage. Beast boy was already sat shotgun,mounding in his seat due to excitement and cyborg had already started the car.

"Move it or lose it ladies." Cyborg hollered out the window just as Raven was about to open the door, she glared at him but he didn't acknowledge it.

"If anyone annoys me I'm transporting you all to hell." Raven made her threat but she had a small smile on her face. It seemed that all of her time with Starfire had helped her tolerance and patience just a tad. No one was transported to hell though as they had a peaceful time. Jokes were made and food was eaten and Starfire felt happier in herself. Thanks to the Justice league, or more specifically, Batman, before the end of the day she would be one step closer to being her old self again. Sure, there was Robin to deal with when he returned, and yes as Batman said he would probably return before Friday. But she would deal with that when it came to it. For now, Pizza.

XXXXXX

Five o'clock rolled round and Starfire and Raven were on the roof of the tower with Superman and Wonder Woman. Cyborg and Beast Boy had stayed in the ops room to keep an eye on the city. Robin would flip his lid more so than they expected he was going to if they left the city unattended. Regardless, Starfire took Wonder Woman's hand and let her lift her from the concrete, Raven decided to stay were she was, so she was ready in case things didn't go quite as Starfire planned. It was easy enough for her to get to Starfire with in a second if needed. She watched as the two Women rose into the sky, following the man of steel as they went. He knew where to go. Starfire sent a small wave back to her friend before her face became determined and hard. She was on a mission that she was not planning on failing.

The three aliens flew higher until they broke the Earth's atmosphere, up where nothing and no one could be hurt. Wonder Woman brought Starfire up to her eye level. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"I hold no doubt in my heart."

The two women released hands and Starfire started to float as there was no gravity to pull her down. Superman and Wonder Woman created a distance between themselves and the Tamaranian girl. Starfire closed her eyes and brought her hands together. When she opened her eyes, they were pure green, but brighter than they had ever been before. And then she started to glow. It was faint at first, a slight shimmer that surrounded her figure, but it grew. It got brighter and it got bigger. Her hands started to glow with the starbolts she was famous for, and as the starbolts grew, she moved her hands further apart.

After months of holding it all in, and trying to relay her energy in different places, she finally released it all with a scream that couldn't be heard. A wave of green energy burst out in all directions. Wonder Woman and Superman were pushed back, much to their surprise. Starfire could feel her energy levels dropping as the power left her. She was on her way to returning to normal. Except that a process like this was easy to start and difficult to stop. She kept pushing, sweat started to roll down her forehead and her eyes were shut tight. Almost there. With great effort, Starfire pulled her arms and legs in so she was curled into a makeshift ball, and with one final push, she let it all out.

Another wave hit the two Leaguers and they were again pushed back. When they recovered, and the light had died down, they flew to where Starfire was floating, motionless. Superman grabbed her as Wonder Woman stroked her hair. Her eyes were wide, and she was breathing heavily. "I was... Successful." She smiled a weak smile as she lay her head on Superman's chest.

"Let's get you home, Princess."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It was Tuesday and Jason was bored. As per usual. Bruce had him under house arrest for a while until he had learnt his lesson that stealing suits and outing family secrets to assassins was not a good thing to do. Not that Jason hadn't already learnt that lesson well before he had revealed to Dick everything that had happened. But Bruce was technically his father and that meant that punishment was necessary. Yes okay, so most families don't have children who move to different cities and become Heroes and Villains, but then again, this was the Bat Family. Regular rules didn't apply for the most part. And as it so happened, house arrest in a place like Wayne Manor wasn't exactly a prison sentence. Jason had everything he could ever want and more. Except for natural daylight gracing his skin, but then he'd much rather stay in and be bored than go out in Gotham's crappy weather any day.

So what could a teenage boy of Jason's calibre do on a boring day such as this? He was currently sat upside down on the sofa, the blood rushing to his head, not that he cared much. He had finished all of his games and he had watched all of the films. Channel surfing had very quickly become a regular part of Jason's day, but there wasn't much on tv for him to care enough to pick a channel and stick to it. That was until one particular image caught his attention.

"Is that?" He asked no one in particular. He turned upright and focused more on the screen, his eyes narrowing slightly. "It is!" Jason scrambled to his feet so fast that he very fell face first onto the floor as he slipped on the carpet. He bolted out of the living room door and up the main stairwell. He ran the length of two corridors before he reached Dick's bedroom door, which he pushed aside without bothering to knock. But he was met with a sil"ent and empty room. Jason swore viscously to himself and turned swiftly to leave the room. He found himself at the top of the stairs again and looked around wondering which way he should go. The large clock at the end of the corridor showed him that it was coming around to nine in the evening.

Without second guessing it, Jason hopped onto the bannister and slid his way down the wooden rail until he reached the tile floor below. He wasted no time in running straight towards Bruce's study, wherein he stopped in front of a floor to ceiling bookshelf. His eyes scrambled for the right book, which he pulled lightly and let it fall back into its rightful place. The bookshelf moved aside silently revealing another stairwell that was lit with dim red lights. Jason took two steps at a time as he realised he had already wasted enough time. He reached the cave within seconds and stopped behind Dick who was sat in the chair at the main computer.

"You wanna be careful taking those steps like that Jase, they're slippery." Dick didn't even look at him, but rather at the screen where he was helping Bruce by keeping an eye on some camera feeds whilst Bruce was setting up to go on patrol.

"Dick." Jason moved to stand next to the chair he was sat in and typed some things in that showed up on a smaller side screen, so as not to interrupt the camera feeds. "It's still there! Look at this. It's on the national news." Dick swivelled slightly in his chair and wondered what Jason was getting so flustered about. A brunette news reporter from jump city was sat at a desk in the local news room, whilst a footage played next to her on the screen.

"This evening around five thirty-" Dick noted that in terms of the time change, it was about an hour ago. "-reports came in of two members of the Justice League, Superman and Wonder Woman, escorting Jump City's very own Starfire back to Titans Tower. This came after members of the public reported seeing a green light fill the sky, and many claimed that the young Titan looked to be injured, though this is yet to be confirmed. Jump City News is waiting on a statement from either the Teen Titans or the Justice League to explain the phenomenon, and we can only hope that Jump City's sweetheart is alright."

The footage played again full screen, Dick never took his eyes away from it. It was clearly a recording from a phone. As the camera came on, the sky was already green, and a few minutes later Superman and Wonder Woman came into view, and Starfire was very visible in the arms of the Man of Steel. Dick seethed. His face felt hot with anger and worry. She deliberately disobeyed him, and half of the League were in on it. Did his leadership mean nothing to anyone lately? He felt his fists clench and unclench. She could have died. It was practically suicidal. Dick stood from his chair and stalked up to the stairs to leave the cave just as Bruce was stepping down them.

"I asked you to keep an eye on those cameras." He was already dressed in his Batsuit, the cowl hanging round his neck like a misshapen hood.

"I'm taking your plane." Dick went to step round him but Bruce put his arm out and stopped him.

"You're not taking the plane. If Dick Grayson is no longer in Gotham when Robin turns up in Jump with the Batplane, people will get suspicious."

"Oh so you are in on it. That's nice that everyone knows what's happening with my team except for me. She could have died!" Dick didn't mean to explode but he was worried, and his worry was worse than his anger.

"This is why we didn't tell you. You're too close to the situation to think rationally about it. It was all worked out and she would have been fine no matter what. Clark and Diana were there, Raven was waiting on standby, and Cyborg and Beast Boy were keeping watch over the city. It was in a secluded area of space where her energy couldn't harm anything. As I said to your team, the League are not impressed that this solution was kept from us." Bruce stalked past him and continued to set up for his patrol.

"I didn't keep it from anyone, because I'd made a decision that it wasn't an option, so there was nothing to discuss."

"Because of your emotional attachment to Starfire, you stopped her doing something that was potentially harmful. You didn't trust her to be able to control it because of your own selfish reasons. I know it must feel nice to have someone depend on you for everything, but you have to think about her."

Dick grated his teeth together in an effort to calm himself slightly. "This wasn't about Starfire being dependant on me, it was about thinking of the best solution that would avoid any potential threat. I know you hate it, because I don't depend on you as much anymore, but I am the leader of my own team and you keep undermining my authority by bringing the League into it."

"Because you're letting your feelings cloud your judgement. I was the one who had to go to Starfire to tell her we could get rid of that scar, which is what is stopping her from flying. I was the one who had to get you out of the situation with Slade. I was the one who organised Starfire releasing her energy in a safe environment. You should be thanking me. She's halfway back to where she was in the space of a few days, and you're being vindictive because it wasn't you who saved her. Get a hold of yourself and start thinking about what really matters. You can't keep her locked in that tower forever, it was driving her crazy."

"I wasn't keeping her locked up. I just don't want to see her hurt again. Who knows what state she's in right now."

"The rest of your team do. She's in a healing sleep and they suspect she will be for a day or so, and then her energy levels should be back to normal. In two weeks time she's coming to me to speak with the plastic surgeon who will examine her scar and discuss removing it. In less than two months she should be back to normal. You're welcome." Bruce said nothing further as he flipped his cowl over his head and hopped into his car. He started the engine and made sure everything was right. Before he closed the roof, he looked at Dick who was looking at the floor. "Do not take that plane." And then he was gone.

Dick balled his fists. In a way, he knew Bruce was right. He was wrapping Starfire in cotton wool so she wouldn't get hurt, when actually he wasn't doing much of anything to think of alternative solutions. Still, she went behind his back and disobeyed a direct order, and that made Robin angry. Screw Dick worrying, Robin was livid. Without even looking at Jason, Dick shot up the stairs and made his way to his room. He opened his top drawer and fished for his communicator. It beeped a few times before Raven's face popped up.

"Portal. Now." He didn't have to say twice. She got a lock on him instantly and with just his communicator in hand he stepped through her black magic from his cozy bedroom in Gotham, to the ops room of Titans Tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy were on the sofa, staying quiet. Raven even looked a bit sheepish. It was odd, even when he wasn't in his uniform and his bright eyes were staring at them, he was still slightly terrifying. "I gave you all an order. I appreciate that the league stepped in, but I am your leader and they have no authority unless I approve. Yes they over look the network and yes they have a say, but just because Batman says he overrules me doesn't mean he actually does. I'm not his sidekick anymore, I don't follow his rules. The next time anything like this comes up, and I'm not here, you call me. And before any of you say it's because I said not to, this is what is classed as an emergency."

He turned swiftly and left the room, the three of them catching each other's eyes. They had expected him to shout, his quietness was bitterly worse. He stalked down the corridor until he reached Starfire's room where he entered her code and stepped inside. The curtains were closed and it was dark. All he could hear was her light breathing. "Starfire." He stepped closer. He noticed that she looked peaceful, unscathed. "Starfire." He got a bit louder as he neared her.

The truth was, he couldn't actually figure out what he was so angry about. He was annoyed she had gone to Gotham, and more so that as far as he was concerned, she had gone to see Bruce. He was annoyed that she had done the exact thing he told her not to in terms of releasing her energy. He was annoyed that she and Bruce had organised the whole thing behind his back. And he was seething that deep down he knew that every thing Bruce had said was right, but it would be a cold day in hell before he admitted that any time soon.

"Starfire!" She shot up and instantly regretted it as her head started to pound. Her eyes took a while to focus as she took in her surroundings. And then her body started to ache. She looked to her left to find a casually clothed Dick Grayson with his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"Robin, it is Friday?" Wow, she didn't think her healing sleep would take that long.

"It's Tuesday."

"What? What time is it?"

"Seven."

As she tried to ignore the pounding in her head, the cogs slowly turned as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. It took her a few minutes. "You have woken me from a healing sleep?"

"You went against my orders Starfire." He was unrelenting with his eyes. Their once beautiful blue was replaced with a coldness she hadn't ever seen before.

"Robin, I... Why would you wake me from a healing sleep? It will take a week or more for myself to recover from this now." It was true, healing sleeps for Tamaranian's were wonders as it cut their healing time down by practically half.

"You disobeyed a direct order from me. Why?"

She looked down at her bed cover, her eyebrows coming together as she tried to get her thoughts in order. That's right... She was still heartbroken at the fact that he... Her eyes glowed as the memory flooded back. She looked back at him, his arms still crossed, his eyes still cold.

"I apologise, Robin. I did not realise you cared so much." She huffed as she swung her legs to the side of the bed, her hands bracing on her thighs as her head spun.

"Starfire, that's why I'm so mad at you. Because I care." His voice softened a but but she refused to look at him. "When we discussed you releasing that energy we decided it was a bad idea. You nearly died the first time."

"No Robin, you decided it was a bad idea. I have wanted to do it, but I respected your authority as my leader."

"Obviously not enough to that you felt the need to go behind my back and do it anyway."

"Well it is done now and when I have recovered my energy levels will be back to normal. So we can soon forget that this whole thing happened. I would hate for you to resent me more than you already do." She couldn't stop the words, for some reason. He hadn't even said anything to provoke them and she came out with it anyway. He raised an eyebrow at her, his hands falling to his sides.

"Star, I don't resent you, I just wish you'd have spoken to me about it, that's all. I'm just angry because you could have gotten hurt." He bent at the knees and his hands came up to caress her thighs, but as soon as he touched her, she shooed him off with a light push. "Star?"

"There are more ways to get hurt than just physically, Robin."

He cocked his head at her, she wasn't making any sense. He didn't think anything he had just said had been hurtful. And yes he shouted at her back at the Manor but he was upset, and she shouldn't have been there. He reached up again and tried to grab her hands but she pulled out of his grasp once again. "Why won't you let me touch you?"

"I am surprised you would want to do the touching of me. I am surprised you are even in my presence at this moment." She wouldn't look at him, and his knees were starting to ache so he stood again.

"Why would you say that? Star I'm mad, but I'll get over it, I just needed to address the issue. I might be your boyfriend but I'm still your leader. This is a Titan issue, not a personal one. I was mad on Saturday when I saw you but I got over that, I realise that it wasn't your fault."

"Robin..." She faltered and he noticed the slightest prick of tears in her eyes, his heart wrenched, but as he reached out to her she held her hand up and stopped him. "Bruce had asked me to journey to Gotham on Saturday. He believed that despite what you had been saying, you needed me there to help you in your time of grief. What I found when I arrived, was that you had already left Wayne Manor. Bruce gave me directions to the cemetery, but he was unaware that you had taken someone else with you."

Robin blanched slightly as a memory hit him. She was there. The person in the grey hoodie, was Starfire. She had come to comfort him, only to find him with Bab's saying, reading off his deepest thoughts. "Star I-"

"I do not wish to hear your excuses. It is obvious that you were being truthful when you told this girl about how you feel about me. For the record Robin, I am not overly fond of myself right now either, but I would have thought that you would not lie to me. You promised me. I told you of my fears and you promised me you did not feel that way. How can you expect me to be with you when you look at me and all you see is Slade?"

He visibly cringed. He really had said that. It wasn't even like she was taking the words out of context, he had literally said that. And she had heard every word. "I... I honestly don't know what to say. I can't deny it, because you were there... I could say it's all down to bad dreams, but it's more than that." Robin moved closer to her and sat beside her on her bed. Shame covered his features. "It started with bad dreams. You would always end up attacking me. He would be there, laughing, and you would just attack me. Nothing I did or said would get you to come back to me, but I could never bring myself to hurt you. It always ended with Slade standing over me, you by his side, and all I could focus on was the scar on your arm through the rip in your suit. When I woke up, I could never quite be sure if I was dreaming or if it had actually happened. It sort of terrified me, because it made me believe there was still a chance that he could be controlling you."

Robin dropped his head into his hands and sighed. Starfire just stared at him, unsure of what to say. His confession did nothing but solidify that which she already knew. She echoed his sigh, and pushed herself off the bed. Unfortunately her body denied her the stability she needed and her knees buckled, sending her to the ground. Robin was by her side in an instant, helping her stand. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine. The expulsion takes away dangerous amounts of energy, and waking me up from my healing sleep has left me drained. As I said, it will take nearly a week to regain normal energy levels now."

"I'm really sorry Star, I..."

"I do not care presently. There is nothing I can do to quell your nightmares, and there is nothing you can do to comfort me. In two weeks time I am taking a trip to Gotham, my scar will be removed and we can put this behind us. For now, I am going to sleep, I do not wish to be disturbed for twelve hours." She sat back on her bed before laying down and pulling the cover over herself. Robin stared at her for a while, guilt and sadness written on his face. Then he realised something she had said and his heart fell into his stomach.

"Star... What did you mean when you said 'how can you expect me to be with you'?" He got silence as a response. "Star, are you... Are we..."

"Robin, I do not wish to discuss it presently, will you please leave?"

He sighed and turned to the door, the reality of the situation hitting him like a ton of bricks. He opened the door and stepped out, before turning back to look at her. She had her back to him so he couldn't see her face.

"I love you Star."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Starfire woke groggily from her sleep. Her whole body felt weak and she had a dull headache. Glancing up at the clock, she noted it was early in the morning. Five o'clock early. She gave the clock a disapproving look and sighed. She needed something. Water, food, a shower. Something that would help her feel marginally better. She desperately needed sunlight but the sun wasn't due to rise for another hour. Reluctantly, she removed herself from the covers and made her way barefoot to the door, slipping out and making the journey to the kitchen. No one else was awake, not that she expected them to be, and she was glad for it. She wasn't yet prepared to deal with her friends asking her how she was feeling, because quite frankly, she felt awful. Thanks Robin.

She was still mad at Robin. He knew better than to wake her from a healing sleep. They might be from different planets but he wasn't stupid. She had explained to him exactly why Tamaranians went into a healing sleep, and the consequences of not fulfilling them. She had even gone as far to explain it in terms of expelling energy the way she had done, just so he knew the full details. He, after all, had asked her to divulge such information when she suggested it as an option.

Stalking over to the sink, she filled a glass with water and gulped it down before refilling it. She then ventured to the fridge and, to her delight, found two left over slices of Beast Boys vegetarian pizza. Fortunately, Starfire was rather fond of vegetarian food. It wasn't that she was about to stop eating meat, because she liked that too, but Beast Boy's alternatives didn't actually taste as bad as Cyborg let on. If she was truthful, Cyborg had probably never tasted tofu in his life. But she had no doubt that they would continue to bicker everyday about the issue. Despite her thoughts of her friends, Starfire placed the pizza in the microwave (having been taught by Robin how to use it properly after she nearly blew it up) and watched absently as the pizza spun on the little glass plate.

When it dinged, she took it out and happily munched on it, whilst taking a walk over to the window and looking out on Jump City. She saw her reflection and signed. She looked tired. Drained. Her skin was pale. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was slightly messy. Still, she wondered if she might have some sort of control over her starbolts yet. Wolfing down the rest of the slice in her hand, Starfire looked at her hand and clenched her fist. It might not work until she got into the sun, but she could try. And she did. She pushed all her energy into her hand, and as she opened her fingers, a green light formed. She stared at it, looking for a sign. The starbolt wasn't pulsing. It was just a solid ball of green energy, and she had control over it. She tried with the other hand and was delighted to see the same thing. A grin erupted on her face. Soon she would be free of Slade. Soon everything he had done would be reversed. And Starfire hadn't felt quite so excited in a long time. That and she could quite confidently justify to Robin that going over his authority and doing it anyway, was a good idea.

"I see that it worked for you. Congratulations."

Starfire's starbolts fizzled out as the voice met her ears, she turned to the screen and found herself looking at Batman. She smiled gently. "Yes, other than recovery taking longer than I had anticipated, my energy levels should be back to normal in a few days. I had concerns over controlling my starbolts, however they seem to be fine, but I shall conduct a few tests over the next few days."

"Let me know how it goes. I don't suppose Robin let it go lightly, he was in a foul mood when I last saw him, and I wasn't surprised to find he was gone when I got back."

"Robin awoke me from my healing sleep, we had a discussion but I did the cutting short of it, I was far too tired and angry to converse with him."

"He'll get over it. Anyway, the reason I called was because I tried to contact you personally but you didn't answer, figured I'd take a shot in the dark and try the main computer. I need some information from you."

"Regarding Slade?"

"Yes, I've gotten all the information from Jason that I can, and obviously you've told us everything that you remember, but I'm still trying to figure out Slade's probes. The technology is advanced even by my standards, and i need to know if you remember anything significant from when he shot you, to when you woke up in that crater. Only because, the League have figured out how he used it to control you, but there's no sign of them being able to tamper with your memory. From what we can tell, they're not capable of brainwashing you. If that's the case, there might be a way to get your memory back, providing that the theory we have of an amnesiac effect reign true."

Starfire frowned... Getting memory of her time with Slade back was a grey area for her. On the plus side, she would finally know how Slade had managed to get her energy so high, since no one had yet figured it out, yet on the down side, she would remember attacking her friends. She supposed though, the positives outweighed the negatives, even if that meant finding out something she wished not to know. That, and it would help the League and the Titans to know more about Slade and how he worked. She thought hard.

"I remember feeling dizzy. Raven had come to collect me, and healed my wounds where Slade had shot me. I joined Robin, and we met up with Red X before coming back to the Tower. Jason had told us everything and then I went to get a shower. When I got back I needed a drink and as I reached for a glass, my head started to hurt and I dropped it. Robin helped me to sit down and I felt cold. He said I was cold to touch, but it is very rare for Tamaranians to be bothered by temperature. Earth temperatures are not very extreme. Anyway, Cyborg contacted us saying they needed help. We joined in the fight with Plasmus, and I struggled with a headache. I ended up throwing up twice, but before I could rest, we had a robbery to stop. I remember the headache intensifying and I... Wait, I remember seeing Slade. He was there. I felt uneasy, like I was being watched and I saw him stood atop a building, he stared at me for a while and then walked away. I lost control of my flight not long after and found myself being caught by Robin. At some point between then and getting home, I must have fallen asleep, as the next thing I remember, I was waking up in a crater with Robin crouching over me."

Batman mulled over the information, typing some stuff as she said it. He looked back at her, his expression unreadable as usual. "Thank you. Whatever it is we'll find out. If Slade felt the need to watch as the probes took over, then he didn't have full confidence that they would work. As to why they made you ill, I will look into it. When I know something, you'll know something. Also, keep that device I gave you on your person at all times. I might need information from you, but I'll be patient enough to let you get away from Robin if that's what you wish."

"I do not wish to keep secrets from him, but I cannot fully trust him with this. He is too quick to come to a decision. Besides, you were correct. He is too close to the situation, and it is inhibiting."

"He loves you."

"While I am certain you are correct again, I do not care much for his feelings if he will say and do horrible things purely because he believes it is best."

"Try not to be too hard on him Starfire. When Robin left Gotham, there was debate between us for a long time. I told everyone he quit, and he told everyone that I fired him. Both statements are true, but for a long time, neither of us wanted to look like the bad guy. Alfred tried to tell him that I did what I did because I cared, but he wouldn't listen. To tell you the truth, Alfred is rarely wrong. I told him to stop being Robin because he got shot, and it scared me. There were other factors, he didn't agree with the way I interrogated criminals, and other things, but that was the main one. I wanted him to stay cooped up at home where no one could hurt him. Now I see, him leaving, was probably the best thing he could have done. I worry about him. Everyday. But he knows what he's doing, and with you lot by his side, he's doing a good job. The point I'm trying to make, is that despite our differences, Dick and I are very similar. He's doing to you what I did to him. Protecting you, but going the wrong way about it. It would be like telling a race car driver never to drive again because they have an accident. You take away what they love, and they resent you for it."

"I see your point, and it is touching to hear you say such things when I have heard Robin's side only, but I cannot yet excuse what he did. He said he sees Slade in me. How can he love me?"

"I understand your frustration, really I do. And don't think for a second that I think it was okay for him to do that, I just wanted to let you know why he's been acting the way he has. Unfortunately, we might not be blood, but he's picked up a fair few traits of mine. Anyway, I'm going to call you in a few days if not before to arrange your specific appointment time with the surgeon. I have to go, but call me if you need anything. Goodbye Starfire."

"Goodbye Batman." The console turned black and Starfire went over to sit on the sofa, running over what Batman had said about Robin. Honestly yes, she could see why he acted the way he did. Why he told her she couldn't do the energy expulsion. But she stood by what she said. That didn't excuse what he said to that girl. She sighed and leant back against the sofa. Hopefully this whole horrid situation would be over soon and she could return to a normal life.

After coming back from Tokyo and having Robin end their relationship, only for it to be reformed halfway through Slade's comeback, it was being shattered again. All she wanted for the longest time was to be something more with Robin, and it seemed like they wouldn't have the perfect relationship she had dreamed it would be. She loved him, of that she had no doubt. Did she trust him? With her life. But she truly believed that he hated her. What other word could she use to describe it? He hated Slade with every fiver of his being, and to Robin, Starfire was practically a part of Slade. She haunted his nightmares just as Slade had.

Perhaps when the scar was removed, Robin's nightmares would go away. But then what if they didn't? There was an uncertainty about it that Starfire couldn't shake. A small part of her believed that the dynamic her and Robin shared had truly been lost, and they wouldn't ever be able to fall into it again. That was part of the reason she hadn't answered Robin the previous evening. Were they breaking up? Was she ending it? Perhaps she should, that would make his life easier. But then, she couldn't lie, she would be truly heartbroken.

"Star?" The voice was quiet, raspy. It was in fear of breaking. Starfire turned to see Robin in the doorway, unsure as to whether he should step into the room. "I went to the bathroom as saw the light on. Sorry if I'm interrupting anything... Are you okay?" She knew, that he knew he wasn't interrupting anything, he was just being polite.

"I am fine. I came to get a drink and something to eat. I will be returning to bed shortly."

"Oh okay, well as long as you're okay... I..." He hesitated, she saw the uncertainty on his face as he looked at her. "You know..." He flicked off the lights and entered the room, walking towards her. "Sometimes, if I wake during the night. I come in here, and I don't turn the lights on. Just so I can see the lights of the city." He held his hand out to her as he reached where she was sat and she reluctantly took it, confused by his sudden change. He helped her to her feet, and walked her over to the window. They looked out over the city together. "When I look out over the city, and I think of all the people who are still awake, doing night jobs, or who just can't sleep, or whatever. It makes me happy, to know that they can do what they're doing in the dark, because they know we're here to protect them."

"Robin, why are you telling me this?"

"Everyone needs someone they can count on in their darkest times Star, and I thought that I was your someone, but I haven't been. You were the only one who believed in me when Slade blackmailed me, but for some reason, I haven't been able to do the same for you. I did some thinking after I left last night, and I realised that I can't keep things from you, no matter how much they may hurt at the time, because it gets worse if I lie about it."

"So, there is something you wish to tell me?" She watched as he sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"There is... I understand if you hate me for keeping it from you, but try to realise that I didn't know how to tell you. Knowing what I know, I didn't know how I could tell you."

"Robin what...?"

"Star, I know how Slade made you so powerful." He cringed as she gasped and stepped away from him.

"But you said..."

"I know, I lied. You were already so upset, and I didn't know how you would take it. I'm sorry, I thought it was for the best."

"How...? Robin, what did he do to me?" She stared at him, her eyes frightened as she realised that she didn't want to know the answer, but needing to at the same time. Robin looked to the floor, and then back up at her.

"Star... When the League raided Slade's hideouts after he was put into ICU, they found that he had taped some of your training sessions and such, we assumed it was so he could go over them and review your weak points, but they found another one... It was... I don't... There..."

"Robin!" She snapped at him, frustrated with his babbling.

"Slade injected you with raw solar energy."

Her head jerked as if she'd been slapped. Her eyes betrayed her horror and her hands were shaking. Robin stepped towards her and grabbed her upper arms, both to comfort her and steady her. "I'm sorry Star, I shouldn't have lied about knowing but now can you see why I did?"

"Show me."

He blanched, his own eyes going wide. "What?"

"I wish to see."

"Star, I don't think..."

"I need to. Robin please." She pleaded with him, her own hands gripping his forearms, probably to steady herself. He wanted to say no, but she wasn't going to take it for an answer.

"Okay..." He sighed and moved away from her, going over to the console. He typed in some stuff and clicked on a file before a video began to play on the screen. Starfire saw herself clamped to a metal table, tubes or wires - she wasn't sure which - going into her skin in different places. Arms, legs, sides, two in her neck. She was surprisingly still, but she reminded herself it was because at that point, she was under Slade's control. There was no sound, but Starfire could see herself screaming as Slade pulled a lever on some kind of machine. A green light started to emit from her hands and her eyes lit up as the light spread over her body. She writhed and twitched but the clamps were holding strong, which was a surprise to everybody. There weren't many materials in the known world that could hold Starfire.

The video cut off, and Robin shut down the screen before turning to Starfire who was visibly trembling. He went to her and enveloped her frame in a hug, her hands trapped against his chest. "I'm so sorry. I promised I'd protect you and I failed you. I never wanted anything like this to happen to you ever again, and it happened regardless. I'm going to be better, I promise. No more lies, no more stupidity. I'm more than just your leader and I need to start acting like it. There's a line to be drawn, but it's okay to blur it sometimes, I see that now." He placed a gentle kiss on her temple, and felt her arms push out from his chest, wrapping around his torso. She started to shake and he realised she was crying. He responded by tightening his grip. "I know this doesn't make everything better, and I know that things won't just go back to normal. I'm probably still going to have nightmares and you still can't fly. But I can promise that we can work through it. If you'll let me help you. I'm tired of fighting against you. From now on, we do things your way."

Starfire pulled back enough to look at his face, his eyes showing how sincere he was being. "You promise you do not hate me?" More tears leaked from her eyes. Robin brought a hand up to stroke her hair.

"I don't hate you Star. I promise. I never did. I never could. I just... I'm having a hard time letting go of what happened. Slade's been haunting me for so long, it's difficult for me to believe that he's been caught, and that he can't do anything. I'm sorry I said those things to Babs about you, I just needed to let it out and I didn't want to hurt you by saying it to you. I don't hate you. What I hate is the thought that Slade could rip us apart. I don't want what he did to come between us, despite me sorta letting that happen, it's not going to continue. I love you."

It didn't make everything better, and they both knew that, but he was trying and she could see that. He was going to be true to his word this time, and she honestly believed him. Maybe it was the sincerity in his eyes, or maybe it was the straight forward tone of his voice, but he had realised his mistakes and he was correcting them. Everyone was entitled to try and make up for what they did, right? She softened in his grip and placed her head on his chest, his hand retaking its position on her back.

"I love you, Robin."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Starfire didn't get much sleep after Robin's revelation. He had followed her to bed and the warmth of his presence comforted her, but it did nothing to quell the memories that flooded her mind. Twice now she had been forced into the same situation, and whilst she didn't remember one, it still happened. She had proof of that. Cruelty was something that Starfire could never understand. Sure she was from a warrior planet who were taught to kill their enemies on sight, but they were never cruel. Quick deaths for anyone who dared challenge you, that was the Tamaranian way. Still, Earth was a nicer environment and the people were certainly entertaining, despite the handful who make it necessary for the Titans to exist.

As she woke that morning to find Robin still sleeping beside her, his arm laid gently over her waist, Starfire felt a small pang of relief to know that her starbolts were getting back to normal. She was also feeling marginally better physically too, which was great! A few more days and all would be well until she got the call from Bruce about her appointment. Everything was returning to the way it should be, slowly, but surly.

Slipping out from Robin's grasp Starfire gathered her uniform and left the room, opting to change in the bathroom since Robin was in her room. After changing and brushing her teeth, she made her way up to the roof, to soak in the Sun's rays, and for once, have it be on her terms. Stepping out of the doorway she made her way over to the east of the tower and stood looking over the water. The soothing sounds of the early morning waves were reading her completely, and the sun was energising her. She was happier already. Unfortunately, as the fable goes, happiness was short lived for the Titans most of the time.

As the sun rose, it's light hit something on the concrete of the roof, the light then reflecting into the corner of Starfire's eye. Curious, she walked over to it, thinking it was maybe a piece of glass or something. Boy was she wrong. When she got to the object, she almost fell, her knees weakening. With a shaky hand she picked it up and brought it to eye level, making sure she could see it properly. Quickly, her head wiped round, scanning the surrounding area for anything. A movement, a shadow, anything. Her senses were on high alert, so when something hit the air vent causing it to clang, she jumped. Holding the first object in her hand, she carefully made her way over to where the sound had come from.

Something was sticking out of the vent. Something small and sharp. An exact replica of the object she was holding in her hand. She looked out at where the object must have come from, and saw nothing but water. No one could make a hit that high. There were no boats, no aerial devices, no people. Starfire started to physically shake. She reached down for her communicator, not wanting to leave, but needing to get her friends here. She hit her distress button, and waited.

Robin was obviously the first one to appear, clad in his uniform but without his cape or gloves as that is how he had slept last night, but making time to put his boots on. He skidded out of the doorway and to where his girlfriend stood, shaking like a small puppy. "Star?! What's wrong?!" Wordlessly she pointed to the vent,and when Robin's eyes fell upon what lay there, his blood began to boil. Cyborg, Raven, and a groggy Beast Boy all appeared behind Robin, confused as to what was going on. Starfire held her hand up to Robin, motioning that she wanted to hive him something. He held out his hand and let her drop the cold object onto it. The rest of the group gasped.

S.

It was a cold, sharp, metal S. Much like the ones that had been on Robin's and Starfire's uniforms when they had been under Slade's control.

"I came out to enjoy the sun. I saw the one you are holding on the floor, and as I was looking upon that one I heard a sound come from the vent. I investigated and found the second one protruding from it. I looked around but there is no one here."

Robin turned the object over in his hand, the cogs in his brain turning. "Surly the Watch Tower would have let us know by now if Slade got out. They wouldn't keep that information from us. Let's go call them, see what they have to say." Robin motioned for the rest to go inside before taking Starfire's shaking hand and leading her in behind them. He made the call from the Ops room computer, Superman answered.

"Hello Robin! Titans! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It's not a pleasure actually, Superman. We've just had an incident involving these." He held the object up to the camera and watched as Superman's expression dropped, his eyebrows knotting.

"If Slade got out, we would know about it in an instant, but let me check anyway." He moved to a side keyboard and typed away, his motions hurried. "Well, as far as these camera feeds are concerned, he's still there." The screen split and the Titans saw Slade laying on a small bed in his holding cell. "I'll make a call though, just to make sure it isn't looped or anything." Again Superman moved to the side, contacting the facility where Slade was being held. The Titan's could only hear Superman's side though. "Hello, this is Superman calling from the Watch Tower. I need a status report on prisoner 135... Alright, thank you. Superman out."

He returned to the screen and confusion took over his face again. "They say he's tightly sealed in his room still. He spends most of his days just staring at the ceiling. Whatever caused your incident, it can't have been him."

"Alright, we'll keep an eye out anyway. Thank you Superman! Robin out." The screen went blank and Robin seethed. Who the hell was playing games with them now? He turned to Star who was sat on the sofa, her eyes sad. "Right well, that was unhelpful. If anyone sees anything let me know immediately. Titans you're dismissed." The other three went their separate ways, and Robin went to sit by Starfire. "It's okay. Whoever it is, it's not him."

"Superman is wrong." She said it so abruptly that Robin was caught off guard. Only Batman was allowed to call out Superman when he was wrong, because he rarely was.

"Star, you saw the footage, it's not being looped, and Superman called the facility. They checked. He's still in his cell."

"Superman is wrong. Slade is the clever, he has found a way out. Who else would have access to the small S shapes? Red X was Jason and he is in Gotham. Wintergreen was a frail old man who served as Slade's personal assistant. There is no one else."

"Look, I get that you're worried, but I don't know what else to tell you. Slade is in his cell. The guards saw him with their own eyes."

"And how many times, may I ask, have you been deceived by a replica of Slade?"

He had to admit, the words stung a bit, but since they were trying to rebuild he wasn't going to bite. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Look Star, I know you're worried, but Superman knows what he's doing, honestly if Slade had gotten out somehow, we'd know. He's being watched 24/7, he couldn't have possibly replaced himself with a robot. Please, just trust me." He got a smile out of her at least, and a small nod, which was good enough for him. Robin gently placed a kiss on her forehead before heading to the roof to remove the S from the vent.

Starfire sighed as he left, her eyebrows knotted together. Fine. If Robin wasn't going to listen then she knew someone else who would. Pushing up from the sofa, she made her way to her room. Deep from the depths of her closet, she pulled out a small bag, the same one Bruce had given her when she last left the cave. From the bag she retrieved a small device that was very similar to her own communicator, except it was all black, and a tablet which she turned on as she went to sit on her bed. Bruce was right, keeping the communicator on her would be easier, so she was going to do that from now on. Sending a call from the communicator, she used her tablet to expertly bring up the camera feed from the security facility that Slade was being kept in. It was the same feed Superman had been using, and Slade hadn't moved an inch.

It was odd, she realised, that despite the knowledge and skill she could show by being able to hack into feeds like this, she knew Robin would be all too disappointed in her regardless. In actuality, the skills she had learnt would be of great use to the Titans, but then she'd have to admit to Robin that she'd been working with Batman, and she could really do without that hassle at the moment. All negative thoughts aside, she concentrated on the feed as her call was answered.

"Talk." Batman looked slightly bloodier than normal, the dim lighting of the cave not helping. He didn't even look at her when she spoke.

"I have reason to believe that Slade is free."

"I got the information about your call from Superman. He said Slade was secure."

"It is not Slade in that cell. It is one of his robots." At this statement, Batman brought his full attention to Starfire.

"What makes you believe that?"

"I am watching him now, he has not moved from the same position in fifteen minutes. Superman said that the guards stated that Slade spent most of his days laying there. Also, as I have been watching, I have noticed that he does not blink. The robots are very convincing, but I truly believe this to be one."

Batman considered it for a moment before getting up the same feed and watching. "I see your point, but he would have had to make the switch at some point, and we would have been alerted. Besides, this place has so much security that getting out is hard enough, never mind also getting something in."

"I just have the bad feeling. I know it must sound ridiculous but I would really rather like somebody to check. Even if I have to go there myself."

"Fine, I'll send someone. I don't want you going anywhere near him until you have your flight back. I will ask someone from the League to go and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Also, I need you in Gotham in four days. Your appointment has been moved forward. Have Raven drop you off at the cave at noon on Saturday."

"Glorious, I shall! I thank you Batman."

"I'll be in touch."

The screen went black and Starfire glanced at the feed of Slade. Something about watching him just didn't creep her out like she thought it should. Probably because she was utterly convinced that it wasn't him. But if it wasn't him in the cell, where was he? And if it was him who was at the Tower earlier, what did he want? Those were the questions that terrified her the most. She shut the feed off and hid the device under her bed. The communicator she placed in a pocket on her belt just before Robin knocked on the door.

"Star? Can I come in?"

"You may enter."

The door swished open and he entered, he now had a fresh uniform on, gloves included. He sat beside her on the bed. "Try not to think about it. Everything will be okay."

"Batman called when you left the room. He has requested my presence in Gotham on Saturday. My appointment has been moved forward."

"Oh that's great news Star." He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned into her, she didn't hug him back due to the awkward angle, but one hand found its way into his hair, gently running her fingers through it. He sighed into her shoulder and squeezed tighter. "I love it when your do that."

"Do what?"

"Run your hand through my hair."

"It would be nicer if you used less of the gel product."

Swiftly he jerked upright, an expression of mock hurt on his face, and a hand over his heart. "Are you saying you don't like my hair?"

"Not at all Robin, I simply prefer it when your hair is left to its natural state." A small cheeky smile appeared on her face. "I also think you should grow it out. Not as long as mine of course but definitely past your shoulders." He got what she was getting at and decided to play along.

"You want me to make the switch to Nightwing? Is Robin the Boy Wonder not good enough for you?"

"Well he was most handsome Robin." She put a finger to her chin, feigning deep thought. "He was taller than I am, and his muscles were well defined. The black clothing he wore complemented his physique perfectly, and I do believe I liked the outfit without the cape."

"This cape has saved you from being shot more than once Star. Besides, you're forgetting that Nightwing was me! I'm just not him yet!"

"Perhaps I should go and ask Cyborg if he could create another portal, it would be most nice to see Nightwing again. He was very nice to me and- oof." Starfire was interrupted mid speech as she was hit in the face by a pillow. When she realised what had happened she looked at Robin who wore an innocent expression on his face, despite the small mischievous smirk. "You have started a war Robin." As she grabbed for the other pillow, Robin expertly flipped over to the opposite side of the bed. A war of feathers and laughter ensued.


End file.
